By PAT EATON-ROBB
STORRS, Conn. — A University of Connecticut consultant is recommending hiking ticket prices at some football and basketball games and taking a closer look at the salaries of UConn's coaches.

The university commissioned the study from McKinsey & Co. last year to suggest ways UConn could cut costs and boost income as the school's state subsidies drop.

The report, which looked at all of the school's non-academic operations, was released Thursday. It found the school spends $58 million a year on athletics, including $6 million in direct university support to the athletic department.

The consultant said that is on par with many similar institutions, but much higher than some Big East schools such as South Florida, West Virginia and Louisville, which each provide less than $2 million in direct institutional support to their athletic programs.

UConn could reduce or eliminate the $6 million athletic department subsidy to create an incentive for its athletic department to cut costs, the report states.

The study also suggests the athletic department could increase revenues by instituting "variable ticket pricing" — essentially charging higher prices for more popular games during the football and basketball seasons. In addition, it suggests raising prices for some sections of season football tickets.

Athletic Department spokesman Mike Enright said the department is always looking at ways to increase revenue and would review the recommendations.

He noted that UConn has discounted tickets available for its men's basketball game Friday night because it would rather sell a seat than have it go empty at a higher price.

The study suggests that the athletic department join forces with UConn's business school to provide an ongoing review of ticket supply, demand and pricing.

The report also found that the school's spending on athletic scholarships ($10 million), coaches' salaries ($12.5 million) and team travel ($6.4 million) are the highest among public Big East programs, and represent another area of potential savings.

"It is possible that these are the costs associated with maintaining such a successful athletics program," the report states. "Others may question the value of such expenditures to the core mission of the university."

The school's Board of Trustees did not immediately decide on the recommendations or say which ones they favored.